Vanessa

Lucky

Vanessa Lucky did not choose an easy topic for her thesis. The sociology student studies safety in the sex trade and is currently analyzing how Canada's prostitution laws may be enabling the violence and abuse of sex workers.

Her research is primarily motivated by a growing knowledge of the substantial dangers in the trade, which began when she started to follow the Robert Pickton case. "The more I learned about how dangerous it is at present, the more I wanted to try to make things safer for sex workers."

Lucky has had several opportunities to share her findings. She's been interviewed by CBC, competed in Lakehead's 2012 Graduate Conference, and recently returned from giving a presentation in Brandfort, Ontario. She also just had a book review published by the Canadian Review of Sociology on Gangs and Girls: Understanding Juvenile Prostitution.

Lucky adds that she's largely been able to bring her academics into her activism and vice versa. Outside the classroom, she assists with the Walk4Justice and the Full Moon Memory Walk and sits on several boards including Diversity Thunder Bay and the Northwestern Ontario Women's Center. Recently, she accepted a position as the Aboriginal Victim and Family Liaison for the Ontario Native Women's Association and is looking forward to this exciting opportunity.

Completing her MA with a specialization in women's studies, Lucky is grateful to have had the support of both departments, which she affirms is "a recipe for success". She declares that the research training she's received is top-notch and adds that her departments regularly bring in international researchers as guest speakers to enrich the graduate experience.

However, Lucky feels the professors truly make the program.

"Over the course of my graduate education I have enjoyed the endless support and encouragement of virtually all of my professors in both my academic and extracurricular pursuits. I can honestly say that I would not have made it this far or done this well without the amazing professors at Lakehead."